Uncertainty of Wages for 2024 Despite Entering Summer; Labor Activists Consider Raisi's Government as 'Anti-Labor'

A labor activist regarding the uncertainty of wages for workers in 2024 despite entering summer stated that the 'resolution has not yet been signed by labor representatives in the Supreme Labor Council and workers are protesting it.' According to the Khabaronline website, Hamid Haj Esmaeili described the 'thirteenth government' as an 'anti-labor government' and said that 'this government has no belief in the rights of labor and the workforce of the country.' The report adds that the space for the signatures of labor representatives in this year's wage resolution 'remains blank and currently there is no news of a meeting or consolation with them.' Haj Esmaeili commented on the unilateral decisions of government officials, stating that they consider themselves the 'main decision-makers' of workers' wages 'and whatever amount they determine, workers must comply and accept.' This labor activist described that the Islamic Republic has failed to create a 'logical and national relationship' with labor groups despite their protests, adding: 'The government was building in a way that was not at all compatible with the conditions of workers, and at the same time, the government's actions were mostly against workers.' Haj Esmaeili referred to workers' rights in international laws and conventions and the government's failure to commit to these obligations, emphasizing that 'our labor law, with all the criticisms it faces, has accepted these laws and these issues are also mentioned in the constitution.' He added that despite this, 'the thirteenth government does not recognize the independence of labor institutions and the independence of their activities, and at the same time does not give any importance to labor organizations.' This labor activist pointed out that the principle of 'tripartism' and the necessity of having a labor representative alongside the employer and government representative to determine workers' wages is accepted in the labor market; he said that 'the thirteenth government did not accept this and therefore did not give importance to the demands and requests of workers.' The uncertainty of workers' wages comes at a time when on Saturday, July 2, the Council for Organizing Protests of Non-Official Oil Workers (Third Parties) announced that 'more than 8,000 project oil workers in over 60 contracting companies' in various regions are on complete strike. Previously, the Council for Organizing Protests of Contract Oil Workers stated that 'there should be equal pay and equal working conditions for equal work,' writing: 'The right of all of us third-party workers, temporary, volume-based, daily wage, fixed-term, and project-based workers is to enjoy all the job benefits of the oil industry just like official workers.' The ILNA news agency also reported on Saturday: 'With the arrival of summer, a new wave of protests from project workers and ongoing projects in the southern regions of the country in the oil, gas, and third-party sectors has begun, with the main demand being the study of changes in working hours and the elimination of contractors.' Meanwhile, according to ILNA, coinciding with the news of the protest campaign of project workers, Alireza Mirghafari, a member of the board of directors of the Supreme Association of Labor Unions, reported the sending of threatening text messages in support of contractors to active protesting workers. Project workers have repeatedly gone on strike in recent years in protest of their living conditions. Additionally, the number of labor protests such as strikes and gatherings in various regions of Iran has shown an upward trend in recent years. These protests are mainly directed at the non-payment of wages on time, low wages, layoffs from factories and companies, and the ineffective process of privatization.